Research reveals nearly two thirds of parents give incorrect answers to
children rather than admitting ignorance. Could you answer these questions?

How can the universe be infinite? What is photosynthesis? Why doesn't the moon fall down? Why is the sky blue? These are just some of the questions, posed by children, that parents found too difficult to answer.

In fact, according to research by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 83 per cent of UK mums and dads have been unable to answer questions from their youngsters about science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) subjects.

But not knowing the answer is only half the problem, as almost two thirds of parents also revealed that they had given an incorrect answer instead of admitting their ignorance on the topic.

The survey of over 1,000 parents also found that those in London were the least knowledgable about scientific subjects, with the majority (93 per cent) admitting they’ve been asked a question by their child that they haven’t known the answer to.

This is compared to Nottingham where only 72 per cent of parents had had difficulties.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Naomi Climer, IET president, said: "It is hard to expect parents to know all this stuff, especially when they are busy and they may not be technically minded. But I'd like to think that if a child asked me a techical question that I didn't know the answer to, I would leap onto Google and try and find the answer with the child."

She continued: "Parents should know it is perfectly legitimate to say 'gosh, I don't know, what a great question, let's see if we can work it out'. There's this world of wonder out there... but if you get squashed early on by getting unsatisfactory answers from someone who doesn't appear to think it's important or interesting, that could discourage you from pursuing that line."

In response to the survey, and as part of a wider campaign, Engineer a Better World, the IET will be running a live Q&A on Twitter from 1-2pm using the hashtag #AskTheEngineers, in partnership with Mumsnet.

"Parents should know it is perfectly legitimate to say 'gosh, I don't know, what a great question, let's see if we can work it out'."

Naomi Climer

During the Twitter-chat, experts will answer STEM related questions, meaning parents won't have to turn to guessing.

Ms Climer added: "Parents are a very significant factor in giving children the impression that engineering could be fun and exciting."